Page 137 of The Star's Sword

But as she became one single form again, bleeding on the ground, I knew she was out of energy.

“Kill her!” Mor yelled. “Kill the nasty, kidnapping bitch!” Mor had been especially incensed for Simon.

“Very well,” I said. “Bring the night.” My sword lit up, ready for action, crackling with deadly force. “You’re a coward, so I guess you’re pretty lucky thatI’mthe one killing you now. You’ll never have a chance to regenerate into this scary life again. Or kill hundreds of vampires.”

“Stop!” she screamed, her hands scrabbling for nothing on the sand as she stayed flat on her back and I walked close. She looked up at the sky. “I’ve done everything you asked. Fucking save me before it’s too late!”

I barely had time to register what she said before a bright beam shone down from heaven, right onto her.

“You have failed,” a deep, booming voice that seemed to fill up all of my senses said, as a shining ball of light moved down the beam toward Vasara.

“I brought you your son,” Vasara choked out, guarding her face with her hands as the light came forward. “I didn’t fail! Give me time!”

“The Morningstar,” the voice boomed. “Where is the Morningstar?” The light was so bright I had to raise a hand, as it felt like it was burning my eyes. Like a sun brought to earth, without heat. I couldn’t make out any shape within. Just white, burning light.

“Kill her,” Cayne yelled at me. “Quick! We don’t need two problems.”

The light was waiting above her, and I lunged in, not thinking as I shoved my night sword right into her heart, then dodged back as fast as I could.

The light flashed and shot to the side when Vasara began to scream, as if it wanted to avoid her unpleasantness.

Her face went gray as her body melted around the sword wound I’d left. Her mouth was slack as her tongue melted and dripped onto the ground. Then all of her turned black, hissed, and disappeared, melting into the sand.

Vasara was gone forever, and no one could bring her back.

That finished, I turned my attention to the ball of light, which was about as tall as a person and as wide, but I couldn’t make out any shape inside, even as it moved to the side of the arena, next to Sam’s cage.

Then it began to glow brighter. “The Morningstar,” the voice boomed. “My son.”

“Fuck,” Cayne said. “Fuck! Cleo, get Sam out of there! It’s a trap!”

Samael was frozen, staring at the light, his hand up to block his eyes.

Time seemed to freeze as fear I’d never felt facing Vasara ran through me.

Holy fuck, it was Sam’s father. A ninth realm celestial, here. Why?

I remembered Vasara’s words.I brought your son here.

This whole thing, the reason Vasara was here, was it a mission for Samael’s dad?

I’d known she had ulterior motives, but not for a second had I guessed what they might be.

“My son,” the voice said, the light going so bright we couldn’t see Samael’s cage for a moment. I ran forward, night sword drawn, but was knocked back by a shockwave of air that sent me flying back twenty feet, landing in my face in the sand.

Then the light was ascending, larger than ever, and I could make out a figure struggling against it, as the light rose in the air.

Samael, I realized, despair filling me at the fact that I didn’t have wings.

The light went brighter, brighter, like a star going supernova, and then the entire world went dark, so dark I couldn’t see a hand in front of my face. So dark I felt I was closing my eyes, even though I wasn’t.

I desperately peered up through the darkness, trying to see Sam, but then a flash lit the darkness, and as everything went back to normal, I realized the giant ball of light was now gone.

As was Sam.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Simon said, running into the arena to help me up, pulling me to my feet and brushing me off as Cayne ran in to help. He ran over to the cage, searching it desperately, and then stared up at the sky.

“They took him,” Cayne said, utter fear and heartbreak in his eyes that I felt echoed within me.

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